Deja vu as Ganna dominates Tirreno-Adriatico stage 1 time trial

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) powered to victory in the time trial on the opening stage of Tirreno-Adriatico for the fourth time in five years at Lido di Camaiore.

After winning in 2022, 2023, and 2025, Ganna has once more started the Race of the Two Seas on the front foot, picking up his fifth stage victory in total at the Italian stage race, finishing the 11.5km course in a time of 12:08.

Ganna, who finished runner-up twelve months ago in the GC behind Juan Ayuso, has set himself up in a strong position for the week ahead, as have his teammates Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) and Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers), who both finished in the top five on the stage, making it a successful day for Ineos Grenadiers.

In the end, Ganna’s margin of victory was a significant one of 22 seconds over his teammate Arensman, with Max Walscheid taking third 26 seconds behind. 

Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in 7th at 0:31, Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) in 9th at 0:33, and Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in 10th at 0:36, were some of the GC favourites to finish in the top 10 on the stage, all within a handful of seconds from one another.

For the fifth, the Race of the Two Seas kicked off with a race against the clock at Lido di Camaiore. The out and back loop along the coast isn’t renowned for its technical features, ensuring that the specialists could push as many watts as possible.

Multi-disciplined talent Emiel Verstrynge (Alpecin-Premier Tech) was the first rider off the start ramp, and the 24-year-old Belgian set a benchmark of 13:24. This was shortly toppled by Cross-Country Mountain Bike World Champion Alan Hatherly (Jayco AlUla) who set a time of 12:38 and the South African would enjoy a spell in the hotseat.

The closest challenger for a while to Hatherly was Jan Christen, who finished nine seconds slower than Hatherly in a time of 12:37.

One of the main contenders for the general classification, Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) rolled off the ramp relatively early at 13:50 CET in sunny conditions. 

The Mexican battled, but would finish six seconds behind Hatherly in a time of 12:44. Hatherly’s time in the hotseat came to an end, when Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) went four seconds quicker in a time of 12:34, but the American didn’t even get the opportunity to make it to the hotseat as one of the next riders home, Max Walscheid, pipped his time by fractions of a second to take the lead with the same time of 12:34. 

Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) set a marker for the GC, as he posted the fastest time of 12:30 when he crossed the line.

Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) put in a strong ride, finishing in a time of 12:41, with Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) shipping some seconds at 12:52.

Pre-stage favourite Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) was quickest through the checkpoint after 5km, three seconds ahead of the next quickest time, and Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), who set off behind his compatriot, was six seconds behind at the first checkpoint.

Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) gained some seconds on the majority of the GC contenders with a strong time of 12:39.

Ganna romped to the quickest time, of 12:08, in a league of his own, whilst Milan impressed with a time of 12:37. British champion, Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step), was the final rider to add his name to the top ten, finishing in a time of 12:40.

Attention now turns to an important second stage that features a gravel finale.